The College-Community Partnership for Racial Justice will hold a live virtual town hall event Thursday at 7 p.m., to discuss results of a local public opinion survey on police reform.
This presentation follows a web series launched by the group in the fall, examining current law enforcement policies and procedures and how to improve them.
Local college students and community organizations formed the partnership following the death of George Floyd, and a call from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to implement police reform plans locally.
Students from Utica College, SUNY POLY, MVCC, Herkimer College, Hamilton College and the Pratt MWP College of Art and Design at Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute work in collaboration with members of the Frontiers Club of the Mohawk Valley, the United Way of the Mohawk Valley and the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties.
Frank Anechiarico, founder of the partnership, says the group wants to focus on improving trust in law enforcement.
"There's a great deal of support and trust in the police in this area, but we also find when we did a targeted a survey in the black community of Corn Hill, that we have much lower levels of trust,” he said. “There's a real gap there and a lot of, just quiet, about the way they are treated by police when they do encounter them. So, there's work to be done here. But, I think we are building from a platform of consensus. I mean, the way that the community responded to the Black Lives Matter, or the chief of the Utica department actually addressing protesters is a very good indicator of our ability to cooperate to improve law enforcement here."
In order to actively participate in the event or ask questions, you must register here.
The presentation will be streamed live at 7 p.m. on CBS Utica and right here on wktv.com.